Earlier this month, Riff Raff landed a new record deal with producer Blackbear’s Beartrap Sound label, which came as a surprise for fans who know him to be an independent artist over the last year.

The “How That Make You Feel” rapper sits down with XXL to talk about the new deal, explaining his desire to top his Neon Icon album from 2014, and why Blackbear and his team are slept on by the general public. Being that he’s with the new label and working hard with the team, Riff Raff is crafting his new project for a fall or winter 2019 release.

“I could drop my own album and be independent forever,” he tells XXL. “I could drop my own albums and make my money like that or whatever, but I want to drop another one that’s like…something that will top Neon Icon. So I brung in Blackbear, or he brung me in, or we collabed. Whatever you want to call it. I signed to his label and he has just such a strong team and I don’t think people realize how structured and how big he’s about to be.”

Riff Raff is also gearing up to launch a television show with actor Simon Rex and comedian Andy Milonakis, which he hopes to mark a potential transition into major movie roles in the future.

“I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to have a sitcom because I’ve been on TV like 10 times, but it was all reality shows, semi-acting like that,” he shares. “That’s cool, but sitcoms…like I wanna host Saturday Night Live! or something big or be in movies, and this is a good step towards it.”

Watch Riff Raff’s interview discussing his new deal, forthcoming album and upcoming TV show with XXL in the video below.